Vehicle vision system for controlling a vehicle safety feature responsive to an imaging sensor having an exterior rearward field of view and before a collision occurs

ABSTRACT

A safety system for a vehicle includes an imaging sensor and an image processor. The image sensor has an exterior rearward field of view. The imaging sensor captures image data and the image processor is operable to process captured image data to detect an object approaching the subject vehicle from rearward of the subject vehicle. The safety system is operable to determine if the detected object is likely to collide (or that a collision is probable or imminent or unavoidable or substantially unavoidable) with the subject vehicle and is operable to adjust a safety feature of the vehicle before the collision occurs. The safety system may be operable to adjust or vibrate or reposition a headrest of a seat in the subject vehicle responsive to determination that the detected object is likely to collide with the subject vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the filing benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/548,902, filed Oct. 19, 2011, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to imaging systems or vision systems for vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Use of imaging sensors in vehicle imaging systems is common and known. Examples of such known systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,949,331; 5,670,935; and/or 5,550,677, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a vision system or imaging system for a vehicle that utilizes one or more cameras to capture images exterior of the vehicle, such as rearwardly of the vehicle, and provides the communication/data signals, including camera data or image data that is processed and, responsive to such image processing, a vehicle safety system is operable to provide a vehicle safety feature, such as adjustment of a vehicle headrest or the like, so as to properly position the headrest in response to a detection of an imminent rear collision.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle with a vision system and imaging sensor or camera that provides an exterior field of view for a vehicle safety system in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a vehicle safety system in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a vehicle 10 includes an imaging system or vision system 12 that includes at least one imaging sensor or camera (such as a rearward facing imaging sensor or camera 14 a and/or optionally such as a forwardly facing camera 14 b at the front (or at the windshield) of the vehicle, and/or a rearwardly and/or sidewardly facing camera 14 c, 14 b at the sides of the vehicle), which captures images exterior of the vehicle, and a vehicle safety system 16 (FIG. 1). The vision system 12 is operable to process image data captured by the camera (such as the rearwardly facing camera 14 a) to detect a rearwardly approaching vehicle or object and to determine if and when the approaching vehicle or object is going to impact or collide with the subject vehicle. The safety system 16, responsive to an output of the vision system that is indicative of a detection of a pending or imminent or likely or potential rear collision by an object or vehicle rearward of the subject vehicle (such as an object approaching the subject vehicle from the rear or an object that the subject vehicle is approaching during a reversing maneuver), is operable to adjust the headrest or headrests 18 of the vehicle 10 to reduce potential harm to the occupant of the subject vehicle during such a rear collision, as discussed below.

As with all passive safety restraint functions in a vehicle, a concern is to detect a pending or imminent impact or collision fast enough to provide time to deploy countermeasures, such as restraints and the like, to protect the occupant. Because impact-based sensors only react after the actual impact occurs, the restraints have to be deployed within a very short time frame (in the range of 10 ms or thereabouts) so as to be in place before the occupant has moved too much in relation to the vehicle to enable an efficient and effective restraint or safety system. Thus, it is desirable that a collision or impact detection occur early enough to be able to use the detection to activate or commence safety measures.

Rear vision cameras are becoming standard equipment on many vehicles in the United States and such rear vision cameras or backup assist cameras are likely to proliferate to other regions as well. The present invention utilizes such a rear vision camera for pre-impact collision detection (such as via image processing of image data captured by a rearward facing camera to detect an approaching vehicle or object to the rear of the subject or host vehicle), and utilizes such pre-impact collision or imminent collision detection to provide a safety feature and/or passenger restraint feature and/or the like.

For example, a rearward facing pixelated imaging array or rearview camera may be disposed at the rear of a vehicle and may have a wide angle rearward field of view rearward of the subject vehicle. The image data captured by the camera (of the scene occurring rearwardly of the vehicle and in the rearward field of view of the camera) can be used to detect an imminent collision or impact (before the collision or impact actually occurs) by utilizing a vehicle detection algorithm or object detection algorithm to process the captured image data. The data processing and object detection and imminent collision or impact detection can be used to trigger a safety feature or the like. Thus, important safety features or benefits can be added to a vehicle without the need for any costly additional hardware or electronic components.

If the detection is early enough (pre-impact), the system may trigger or activate a restraint system that may use a less severe (slower and less energy) and less costly and reversible activation principle. For example, and with reference to FIG. 2, the rearward facing camera 14 a and image processing of image data captured by the rearward facing camera may detect a rearwardly approaching object or vehicle and may determine if a collision or impact is likely or imminent or unavoidable or substantially unavoidable. For example, the system may be operable to detect a rapidly approaching object or vehicle in the camera's field of view, and optionally may take into account the size and/or shape and/or speed of the detected object/vehicle and/or the distance to the detected object/vehicle from the subject vehicle and/or the rate of approach of the detected object/vehicle towards the subject vehicle in determining whether or not the detected object is potentially a vehicle or large object that may harm the driver and/or passenger of the subject vehicle if an impact occurs. If the system determines that the detected object or vehicle is going to impact or is likely to impact the subject vehicle in such a way that may harm the driver and/or passenger (such as at an impact speed relative to the subject vehicle that is above a threshold level), the system may generate an alert or signal indicative of an imminent collision or impact. Responsive to such a signal, a passenger restraint system, such as a movable headrest system or the like, may be triggered or activated to move the headrest 18 (or portion of the headrest) forward and towards the then current location of the driver's or passenger's head so that, when the impact occurs, the rearward travel of the driver's or passenger's head is reduced or limited by the forward position of the headrest.

The rearward facing camera and the object or vehicle detection algorithm thus function to detect an imminent collision or impact and provide an activation output to a headrest restraint or adjustable headrest function before the impact occurs. The headrest or headrests are thus moved to a forward position just prior to the impact so that the rearward travel of the occupant's head is limited by the forward position of the headrest when the rear impact occurs. Optionally, the safety system may also be responsive to a seat occupancy detection system and may only adjust or move the headrest or headrests of a seat or seats that is/are occupied at the time that the imminent collision or impact is detected.

Optionally, other passenger restraints or safety features may be triggered or activated responsive to such a detection of an imminent collision or impact. For example, seat belts may be locked or restrained just prior to impact or airbags may be readied or “warmed up” for deployment (preferably without actually deploying the airbags until impact in case the impact is avoided) and/or the like.

Optionally, the image based pre-impact collision detection and output signal may be used as a part of other vehicle systems or of an overall safety system of the vehicle. For example, the detection and output system of the present invention may be used as a stand alone system, a confirmation only sensor as part of a safety system, fusion of the image data output with other sensing systems such as, for example, ultrasonic sensing systems, pressure sensing systems and/or accelerometers and/or the like.

Optionally, the vision and safety system may be deactivated or the logic of the activation or operation may change when the reverse gear of the vehicle is engaged (indicating that a reversing maneuver is being undertaken by the driver of the vehicle). The system thus may actuate or control the safety feature (such as adjustment or movement of a headrest) further responsive to a signal or input indicative of the vehicle being shifted into a reverse gear. Optionally, when the vehicle is executing such a reversing maneuver, or when the vehicle is being driven down the road and a following vehicle is closely following or tailgating the subject vehicle, the system may function to generate an alert (such as a visual alert or tactile alert or audible alert) to alert the driver of the subject vehicle of a detected object or vehicle rearward of the subject vehicle. For example, the headrest may be moved forward (or optionally may be vibrated or otherwise moved or adjusted, such as via a vibrating element disposed at or in the headrest, or optionally may include a speaker or the like that is operable to generate an audible alert at the headrest) to provide a tactile or haptic alert to the driver to alert the driver that a rearward object has been detected, such as when the driver is reversing the vehicle and the system detects an object rearward of the subject vehicle and in the reversing path of the subject vehicle (and/or such as when the system detects an object or other vehicle closely following the subject vehicle and/or such as when the system detects an object or other vehicle approaching the subject vehicle from the rear at an approach rate or speed that is greater than a threshold approach rate). Such a headrest activation or control may utilize already existing cameras and image processor and headrest controls (which may adjust the position of the headrest responsive to a user input as part of a seat adjustment system), so that the safety/alert system may be provided without a significant cost increase to the vehicle manufacturer.

Optionally, the safety/alert system of the present invention may be operable to detect an approaching object or vehicle to the rear of the subject vehicle and, responsive to a determination of a rear collision, the safety/alert system may be operable to communicate with a telematics system of the vehicle. For example, the safety/alert system may contact a remote service provider or emergency service to alert the service of an accident so that emergency vehicles may be sent to the accident to provide the appropriate emergency services to the accident site as soon as possible. Optionally, the alert system may be operable to report the severity of the accident and may (such as via the speakers and microphones of the vehicle's telematics system) attempt to contact the vehicle occupants to determine the nature of any potential injuries. The system of the present invention thus may provide rear accident detection and may alert a remote service provider accordingly. Such an alert may be made independent of any deployment of airbags or the like (during a rear end collision, the airbags may not be deployed and thus known emergency telematics systems may not be responsive to such rear end collisions). The system may have connection to the telematics system with data download at Ignition off for the system and its rear camera.

Therefore, the present invention provides a vision system that is operable to detect a rearwardly approaching object or vehicle and that is operable to determine if the detected object or vehicle is likely to impact or collide with the rear of the subject vehicle. If such a pending collision is determined, the system generates a signal or output that actuates or triggers a safety feature of the vehicle so that the safety feature is activated before the actual impact occurs. Preferably, the triggered safety feature is a reversible feature (such as adjustment of the headrest or seat belt or seat setting or door locks or the like), such that if the collision is avoided or otherwise does not occur, the system can return the adjusted component or accessory (such as the headrest or seat belt or seat or door lock) to its normal position or setting (the position or setting that it was in prior to the detection of the imminent collision or impact).

The imaging sensor or camera that captures the image data for image processing may comprise any suitable camera or sensing device, such as, for example, an array of a plurality of photosensor elements arranged in 640 columns and 480 rows (a 640×480 imaging array), with a respective lens focusing images onto respective portions of the array. The photosensor array may comprise a plurality of photosensor elements arranged in a photosensor array having rows and columns. The logic and control circuit of the imaging sensor may function in any known manner, such as in the manner described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,877,897; 6,498,620; 5,670,935; 5,796,094; and/or 6,396,397, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/696,416, filed Sep. 4, 2012; Ser. No. 61/682,995, filed Aug. 14, 2012; Ser. No. 61/682,486, filed Aug. 13, 2012; Ser. No. 61/680,883, filed Aug. 8, 2012; Ser. No. 61/678,375, filed Aug. 1, 2012; Ser. No. 61/676,405, filed Jul. 27, 2012; Ser. No. 61/666,146, filed Jun. 29, 2012; Ser. No. 61/653,665, filed May 31, 2012; Ser. No. 61/653,664, filed May 31, 2012; Ser. No. 61/648,744, filed May 18, 2012; Ser. No. 61/624,507, filed Apr. 16, 2012; Ser. No. 61/616,126, filed Mar. 27, 2012; Ser. No. 61/615,410, filed Mar. 26, 2012; Ser. No. 61/613,651, filed Mar. 21, 2012; Ser. No. 61/607,229, filed Mar. 6, 2012; Ser. No. 61/605,409, filed Mar. 1, 2012; Ser. No. 61/602,878, filed Feb. 24, 2012; Ser. No. 61/602,876, filed Feb. 24, 2012; Ser. No. 61/600,205, filed Feb. 17, 2012; Ser. No. 61/588,833, filed Jan. 20, 2012; Ser. No. 61/583,381, filed Jan. 5, 2012; Ser. No. 61/579,682, filed Dec. 23, 2011; Ser. No. 61/570,017, filed Dec. 13, 2011; Ser. No. 61/568,791, filed Dec. 9, 2011; Ser. No. 61/567,446, filed Dec. 6, 2011; Ser. No. 61/559,970, filed Nov. 15, 2011; and/or Ser. No. 61/552,167, filed Oct. 27, 2011, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/CA2012/000378, filed Apr. 25, 2012, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2012/056014, filed Sep. 19, 2012, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2012/048800, filed Jul. 30, 2012, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2012/048110, filed Jul. 25, 2012, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/534,657, filed Jun. 27, 2012, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The system may communicate with other communication systems via any suitable means, such as by utilizing aspects of the systems described in PCT Application No. PCT/US10/038477, filed Jun. 14, 2010, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/202,005, filed Aug. 17, 2011, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/650,667, filed May 23, 2012; Ser. No. 61/579,682, filed Dec. 23, 2011; Ser. No. 61/565,713, filed Dec. 1, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The imaging device and control and image processor and any associated illumination source, if applicable, may comprise any suitable components, and may utilize aspects of the cameras and vision systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,877,897; 6,498,620; 5,670,935; 5,796,094; 6,396,397; 6,806,452; 6,690,268; 7,005,974; 7,123,168; 7,004,606; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 6,353,392; 6,320,176; 6,313,454; and 6,824,281, and/or International Publication No. WO 2010/099416, published Sep. 2, 2010, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/47256, filed Aug. 31, 2010, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/508,840, filed Jul. 24, 2009, and published Jan. 28, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Publication No. US 2010-0020170; and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2012/048110, filed Jul. 25, 2012, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/534,657, filed Jun. 27, 2012, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The camera or cameras may comprise any suitable cameras or imaging sensors or camera modules, and may utilize aspects of the cameras or sensors described in U.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 12/091,359, filed Apr. 24, 2008 and published Oct. 1, 2009 as U.S. Publication No. US-2009-0244361; and/or Ser. No. 13/260,400, filed Sep. 26, 2011, and/or U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,965,336 and/or 7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The imaging array sensor may comprise any suitable sensor, and may utilize various imaging sensors or imaging array sensors or cameras or the like, such as a CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensor or other sensors or the like, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,715,093; 5,877,897; 6,922,292; 6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,590,719; 6,201,642; 6,498,620; 5,796,094; 6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 6,806,452; 6,396,397; 6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,339,149; 7,038,577; 7,004,606; 7,720,580; and/or 7,965,336, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2008/076022, filed Sep. 11, 2008 and published Mar. 19, 2009 as International Publication No. WO/2009/036176, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2008/078700, filed Oct. 3, 2008 and published Apr. 9, 2009 as International Publication No. WO/2009/046268, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The camera module and circuit chip or board and imaging sensor may be implemented and operated in connection with various vehicular vision-based systems, and/or may be operable utilizing the principles of such other vehicular systems, such as a vehicle headlamp control system, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094; 6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 7,004,606; 7,339,149; and/or 7,526,103, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a rain sensor, such as the types disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,392; 6,313,454; 6,320,176; and/or 7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a vehicle vision system, such as a forwardly, sidewardly or rearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizing principles disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,949,331; 6,222,447; 6,302,545; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202; 6,201,642; 6,690,268; 6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452; 6,822,563; 6,891,563; 6,946,978; and/or 7,859,565, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a trailer hitching aid or tow check system, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,974, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a reverse or sideward imaging system, such as for a lane change assistance system or lane departure warning system or for a blind spot or object detection system, such as imaging or detection systems of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, and/or U.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 11/239,980, filed Sep. 30, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,881,496, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 60/628,709, filed Nov. 17, 2004; Ser. No. 60/614,644, filed Sep. 30, 2004; Ser. No. 60/618,686, filed Oct. 14, 2004; Ser. No. 60/638,687, filed Dec. 23, 2004, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a video device for internal cabin surveillance and/or video telephone function, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 6,690,268; and/or 7,370,983, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a traffic sign recognition system, a system for determining a distance to a leading or trailing vehicle or object, such as a system utilizing the principles disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,396,397 and/or 7,123,168, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or the like.

Optionally, the circuit board or chip may include circuitry for the imaging array sensor and or other electronic accessories or features, such as by utilizing compass-on-a-chip or EC driver-on-a-chip technology and aspects such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451 and/or U.S. Pat. No. 7,480,149; and/or U.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008, and/or Ser. No. 12/578,732, filed Oct. 14, 2009, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the vision system may include a display for displaying images captured by one or more of the imaging sensors for viewing by the driver of the vehicle while the driver is normally operating the vehicle. Optionally, for example, the vision system may include a video display device disposed at or in the interior rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the video mirror display systems described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268 and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/333,337, filed Dec. 21, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The video mirror display may comprise any suitable devices and systems and optionally may utilize aspects of the compass display systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,329,013; 7,308,341; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 4,546,551; 5,699,044; 4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226; 5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460; 6,513,252; and/or 6,642,851, and/or European patent application, published Oct. 11, 2000 under Publication No. EP 0 1043566, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, the video mirror display screen or device may be operable to display images captured by a rearward viewing camera of the vehicle during a reversing maneuver of the vehicle (such as responsive to the vehicle gear actuator being placed in a reverse gear position or the like) to assist the driver in backing up the vehicle, and optionally may be operable to display the compass heading or directional heading character or icon when the vehicle is not undertaking a reversing maneuver, such as when the vehicle is being driven in a forward direction along a road (such as by utilizing aspects of the display system described in PCT Application No. PCT/US2011/056295, filed Oct. 14, 2011 and published Apr. 19, 2012 as International Publication No. WO 2012/051500, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

Optionally, the vision system (utilizing the forward facing camera and a rearward facing camera and other cameras disposed at the vehicle with exterior fields of view) may be part of or may provide a display of a top-down view or birds-eye view system of the vehicle or a surround view at the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the vision systems described in PCT Application No. PCT/US10/25545, filed Feb. 26, 2010 and published on Sep. 2, 2010 as International Publication No. WO 2010/099416, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/47256, filed Aug. 31, 2010 and published Mar. 10, 2011 as International Publication No. WO 2011/028686, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US11/62755, filed Dec. 1, 2011 and published Jun. 7, 2012 as International Publication No. WO 2012-075250, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2012/048993, filed Jul. 31, 2012, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/CA2012/000378, filed Apr. 25, 2012, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/333,337, filed Dec. 21, 2011, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/615,410, filed Mar. 26, 2012; Ser. No. 61/588,833, filed Jan. 20, 2012; Ser. No. 61/570,017, filed Dec. 13, 2011; Ser. No. 61/568,791, filed Dec. 9, 2011; Ser. No. 61/559,970, filed Nov. 15, 2011; Ser. No. 61/540,256, filed Sep. 28, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the video mirror display may be disposed rearward of and behind the reflective element assembly and may comprise a display such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240; 6,329,925; 7,855,755; 7,626,749; 7,581,859; 7,446,650; 7,370,983; 7,338,177; 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 5,668,663; 5,724,187 and/or 6,690,268, and/or in U.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,855,755; Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The display is viewable through the reflective element when the display is activated to display information. The display element may be any type of display element, such as a vacuum fluorescent (VF) display element, a light emitting diode (LED) display element, such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) or an inorganic light emitting diode, an electroluminescent (EL) display element, a liquid crystal display (LCD) element, a video screen display element or backlit thin film transistor (TFT) display element or the like, and may be operable to display various information (as discrete characters, icons or the like, or in a multi-pixel manner) to the driver of the vehicle, such as passenger side inflatable restraint (PSIR) information, tire pressure status, and/or the like. The mirror assembly and/or display may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190; 7,255,451; 7,446,924 and/or 7,338,177, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The thicknesses and materials of the coatings on the substrates of the reflective element may be selected to provide a desired color or tint to the mirror reflective element, such as a blue colored reflector, such as is known in the art and such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036; and/or 7,274,501, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the display or displays and any associated user inputs may be associated with various accessories or systems, such as, for example, a tire pressure monitoring system or a passenger air bag status or a garage door opening system or a telematics system or any other accessory or system of the mirror assembly or of the vehicle or of an accessory module or console of the vehicle, such as an accessory module or console of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888; 6,824,281; 6,690,268; 6,672,744; 6,386,742; and 6,124,886, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A safety system for a vehicle, said safety system comprising: an imaging sensor having an exterior rearward field of view, said imaging sensor capturing image data; an image processor operable to process image data captured by said imaging sensor to detect an object approaching the subject vehicle from rearward of the subject vehicle; wherein said safety system is operable to determine if the detected object is likely to collide with the subject vehicle and is operable to adjust a safety feature of the subject vehicle before the collision occurs; and wherein said safety system is deactivated when a reverse gear of the subject vehicle is engaged so that said safety system does not adjust the safety feature when the reverse gear of the subject vehicle is engaged.
 2. The safety system of claim 1, wherein said safety system is operable to adjust a position of a headrest of a seat in the subject vehicle responsive to determination that the detected object is likely to collide with the subject vehicle.
 3. The safety system of claim 2, wherein said safety system is operable to move the headrest of the seat forward to limit rearward movement of an occupant's head when the collision with the detected object occurs.
 4. The safety system of claim 3, wherein said safety system is operable to adjust the position of the headrest of the seat responsive to a detection that the seat is occupied by an occupant of the vehicle.
 5. The safety system of claim 1, wherein said safety system is operable to adjust a headrest of a seat in the subject vehicle responsive to determination that the detected object is likely to collide with the subject vehicle.
 6. The safety system of claim 5, wherein said headrest is adjustable to provide a haptic alert to the seat occupant to alert the seat occupant of the potential collision.
 7. The safety system of claim 6, wherein said safety system is operable to move the headrest forward to limit rearward movement of the seat occupant's head when the collision with the detected object occurs.
 8. The safety system of claim 1, wherein said safety system is operable to communicate an alert to a telematics system of the vehicle responsive to determination of a rear collision of the subject vehicle.
 9. The safety system of claim 1, wherein said imaging sensor is disposed at a rearward portion of the vehicle.
 10. A safety system for a vehicle, said safety system comprising: an imaging sensor having an exterior rearward field of view, said imaging sensor capturing image data; an image processor operable to process image data captured by said imaging sensor to detect an object approaching the subject vehicle from rearward of the subject vehicle; wherein said safety system is operable to determine if the detected object is likely to collide with the subject vehicle and wherein, responsive to said determination of a likely collision, said safety system is operable to adjust a headrest of a seat of the subject vehicle; and wherein said safety system is deactivated when a reverse gear of the subject vehicle is engaged so that said safety system does not adjust the headrest of the seat of the subject vehicle when the reverse gear of the subject vehicle is engaged.
 11. The safety system of claim 10, wherein said safety system is operable to adjust a position of the headrest of the seat responsive to determination that the detected object is likely to collide with the subject vehicle.
 12. The safety system of claim 11, wherein said safety system is operable to move the headrest of the seat forward to limit rearward movement of an occupant's head when the collision with the detected object occurs.
 13. The safety system of claim 12, wherein said safety system is operable to adjust the position of the headrest of the seat responsive to a detection that the seat is occupied by an occupant of the vehicle.
 14. The safety system of claim 10, wherein said headrest is adjustable to provide a haptic alert to the seat occupant to alert the seat occupant of a potential rearward collision.
 15. The safety system of claim 14, wherein said safety system is operable to move the headrest forward to limit rearward movement of the seat occupant's head when a rearward collision with the detected object occurs.
 16. The safety system of claim 10, wherein said safety system is operable to communicate an alert to a telematics system of the vehicle responsive to determination of a rear collision of the subject vehicle.
 17. The safety system of claim 10, wherein said imaging sensor is disposed at a rearward portion of the vehicle.
 18. A safety system for a vehicle, said safety system comprising: an imaging sensor disposed at a rearward portion of the vehicle and having an exterior rearward field of view, said imaging sensor capturing image data; an image processor operable to process image data captured by said imaging sensor to detect an object approaching the subject vehicle from rearward of the subject vehicle; wherein said safety system is operable to determine if the detected object is likely to collide with the subject vehicle and wherein, responsive to said determination of a likely collision, said safety system is operable to adjust a position of a headrest of a seat of the subject vehicle; wherein said safety system is operable to adjust the position of the headrest of the seat responsive to a detection that the seat is occupied by an occupant of the vehicle; and wherein said safety system is deactivated when a reverse gear of the subject vehicle is engaged so that said safety system does not adjust the position of the headrest of the seat when the reverse gear of the subject vehicle is engaged.
 19. The safety system of claim 18, wherein said safety system is operable to move the headrest of the seat forward to limit rearward movement of an occupant's head when the collision with the detected object occurs.
 20. The safety system of claim 18, wherein said headrest is adjustable to provide a haptic alert to the seat occupant to alert the seat occupant of a potential rearward collision.
 21. The safety system of claim 18, wherein said safety system is operable to communicate an alert to a telematics system of the vehicle responsive to determination of a rear collision of the subject vehicle. 